ive resently picked up my first opertaional campaign medal, and been informed that if i do another tour of the same theatre i will not get a bar or anything to show that ive done another tour there, i always thought that i would get a bar that had the date that i served from-to on it, any help?

firstly they are clasps secondly if it is an OSM, GSM, or Iraq Medal the days you spend on ops go towards the ACSM that you get when you have done 1080 days on ops earning the above mentioned medals and after a further 1080 days you get a clasp for the ACSM

Thats what the ACSM shows mainly brought in for the CSM/ GSM, now on OSM. Maybe i could try to add some more abbreviations
So, no numerals or extra clasps on british campaign medals showing more than one tour.

You don't get a clasp on the Iraq medal unless it was during the offical "war" dates you get a clasp on the Afhgan OSM if you serve in country (aircrew that are based else wear for example but do x amount of flights into the country just get the medal)

I do know abit about medals and mounting them ect. but one thing that has confused me is the Operational Service Medal (OSM) issue.
In the past we had the General Service Medal (GSM) / Campaign Service Medal (CSM). If like me you went to Northern Ireland 1st you got the medal with the clasp "NORTHERN IRELAND" few years after that i was also awarded the "AIR OP'S IRAQ" clasp which is mounted onto my exsisting GSM.

Why do the OSM's only cover one OP? I could be lucky or unlucky depending on how you look at it spent a tour in Sierra Leonne, The Congo, Afghan this entitles me to 3 medals which are the same coin part with different ribbons and clasps or rossette for SL.
Why not just issue more clasps as they did with the GSM/CSM? There were i believe 16 different clasps that were awarded over the years. One of them Vietnam.

I don't know why they intoducted the OSM's but more medals means a shinner looking uniform

would you rather have one medal with 8 clasps or 8 medals?

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I'm not complaining, if you've earnt a medal or clasp you wear it with pride.
I already have a chest full of medals don't need anymore thanks! maybe a VC or 2
I just find it odd in this day and age where the MoD save money at every opportunity, why didn't they just do clasps? good Gems idea

I do know abit about medals and mounting them ect. but one thing that has confused me is the Operational Service Medal (OSM) issue.
In the past we had the General Service Medal (GSM) / Campaign Service Medal (CSM). If like me you went to Northern Ireland 1st you got the medal with the clasp "NORTHERN IRELAND" few years after that i was also awarded the "AIR OP'S IRAQ" clasp which is mounted onto my exsisting GSM.

Why do the OSM's only cover one OP? I could be lucky or unlucky depending on how you look at it spent a tour in Sierra Leonne, The Congo, Afghan this entitles me to 3 medals which are the same coin part with different ribbons and clasps or rossette for SL.
Why not just issue more clasps as they did with the GSM/CSM? There were i believe 16 different clasps that were awarded over the years. One of them Vietnam.

Does anyone have the answer?

Click to expand...

Basically we run out of clasps for the GSM, theres a set number which is why there are 2 GSMs (the Malaya era one looks different than the NI one, look it up)

This gave an oppuntunity to address the whinge by many that one ribbon doesn't show the number of tours, the solution was to create a single medal but with multiple ribbons, the OSM for Afghan/SL/DROC is the same medal, just ribbon is different.

I do know abit about medals and mounting them ect. but one thing that has confused me is the Operational Service Medal (OSM) issue.
In the past we had the General Service Medal (GSM) / Campaign Service Medal (CSM). If like me you went to Northern Ireland 1st you got the medal with the clasp "NORTHERN IRELAND" few years after that i was also awarded the "AIR OP'S IRAQ" clasp which is mounted onto my exsisting GSM.

Why do the OSM's only cover one OP? I could be lucky or unlucky depending on how you look at it spent a tour in Sierra Leonne, The Congo, Afghan this entitles me to 3 medals which are the same coin part with different ribbons and clasps or rossette for SL.
Why not just issue more clasps as they did with the GSM/CSM? There were i believe 16 different clasps that were awarded over the years. One of them Vietnam.

Does anyone have the answer?

Click to expand...

Basically we run out of clasps for the GSM, theres a set number which is why there are 2 GSMs (the Malaya era one looks different than the NI one, look it up)

This gave an oppuntunity to address the whinge by many that one ribbon doesn't show the number of tours, the solution was to create a single medal but with multiple ribbons, the OSM for Afghan/SL/DROC is the same medal, just ribbon is different.

Click to expand...

Looking it up there are 13 Clasps on the Campaign Service Medal 1962
and 18 clasps on the General Service Medal 1918-62 it may look a little different with the King on it! and the Queen on them from 1952

So the answer to why no clasps, just more medal and ribbon is whinging squaddies wanting more "bling"
Shame it's Iraq & Afghan for the next 20 years! on just one medal

P.S. if anyones got a genuine issued Vietnam CSM and want to donate it to my beer fund i'll happily take it

The General Service Medal 1918-1962 is a different medal than the Campaign Service Medal 1962.

The reverse design of the medal is different and the ribbon has the same colour stripes but arranged differently.

The CSM 62 replaced the GSM 1918-62 for the Army and RAF and also replaced the Naval General Service medal for the RN / RM.

There was also an Africa Service Medal, which was mostly awarded for long forgotten African campaigns but was re issued and awarded for service in Kenya during the Mau Mau campaign in the late 50s (not sure if I have the date right there).

When the new OSM was issued it was specifically stated that it would be issued for each separate campaign as a new medal with a different ribbon and not as one medal with different clasps for each theatre, thus you can earn multiple OSMs for different theatres.

It is supposed to be only used for relatively minor operations falling short of full blown large scale combat ops, ie Sierra Leone and Congo. Hence for Iraq there is a separate Iraq medal, as there was for the Falklands and Gulf War 1.

Initialy in Afghanistan it made sense to issue a OSM, but part of the recent argument about medals there now is that what is currently happening is clearly within the remit of a completely separate campaign medal.

In the British military we do not issue clasps or bars or numerals to denote multiple tours although we do allow those who have earned them on NATO and UN tours to wear the numeral for multiple tours on those medals.